Ohio city gave out free eclipse glasses — but they didn’t work

Ohio city gave out free eclipse glasses — but they didn’t work

ORANGE, Ohio (WJW) — Orange Village Mayor Judson Kline couldn’t wait to witness history. His city was in the path of Monday’s total solar eclipse, and he wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to see it.

The city distributed 1,500 eclipse glasses for its residents. It was supposed to be a kind gesture, but somehow it turned into a nightmare.

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“We ordered them, we delivered them and making it known to the residents that we had these available and would be distributing them,” added Kline.

But then, Mayor Kline says city officials began hearing that the city’s glasses weren’t working.

Kline himself was wearing a pair of the glasses during the eclipse, he says. But when he looked up, all he could see was total darkness.

“And then I kept getting texts from friends saying, ‘I don’t think these things work,’” Kline explained.

City officials are trying to get a hold of the company for an explanation as to why their glasses didn’t work.

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But so far Kline says the city hasn’t gotten a response back.

In any way they can, Mayor Kline hopes to make up for what happened. At the same time, they’ll keep working to get their money back on the investment.

He added: “It’s obvious that they can’t redo the eclipse, so they can’t do anything other than that.”

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